The key dates and draws for the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League
Published 01/06/2026 at 13:17 GMT+1
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The 2025/26 campaign is over after months of goals, skill and drama across Europe.
Highlights: Arsenal agony as PSG retain Champions League crown
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However, with nine English teams set to compete in UEFA competitions next term, many fans will already have one eye on the 2026/27 season.
Premier League champions Arsenal have qualified for the UEFA Champions League along with Manchester City, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Liverpool, and the quintet will go head-to-head with some of the greatest sides the continent has to offer.
Crystal Palace, Sunderland and Bournemouth also have a lot to look forward to after they booked their places in the UEFA Europa League.
Finally, Brighton & Hove Albion will hope to follow in Palace’s footsteps by winning the UEFA Conference League.
It is sure to be another exciting campaign across the three UEFA competitions, and here are all the key dates you will need to know to keep up with all the action.
UEFA Champions League
The Champions League final between Arsenal and Paris-Saint-Germain may have only just taken place, but the draw for the first qualifying round of the next edition of Europe’s elite competition is only a few weeks away.
It will be held on June 16, with the first legs to be played on July 7-8.
The second legs will kick off on July 14-15, with a place in the second qualifying round hanging in the balance.
And the draw for that will take place before a ball has been kicked, on June 17, but the second qualifying round first legs will not go ahead until July 21-22, with the second legs on July 28-29.
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The draw for the third qualifying round is scheduled for July 20, with the first and second legs set for August 4-5 and August 11, respectively.
Fans of European football can then look ahead to the play-off round, the draw for which is on August 3, ahead of the first legs on August 18-19 and the second legs on August 25-26.
The Champions League will then reach a crescendo with the league phase draw on August 27, which is the point where the five English teams will enter the competition.
League Phase rounds will run from September 8 to January 27, with the subsequent knockout phase play-off draw to follow on January 19. The first legs will be contested on February 16-17 before the second legs get underway on February 23-24.
And the final draw of the 2026/27 competition will be held on February 26, with the Round of 16 ties being contested on March 9-10 and March 16-17.
The quarter-finals are set for April 6-7 and April 13-14, followed by the semi-finals on April 27-28 and April 13-14.
The pinnacle of European football, the Champions League final, will then be held at the Metropolitano Stadium in Madrid on June 5.
UEFA Europa League
Palace, Sunderland and Bournemouth all have a chance to qualify for the Champions League via the Europa League, won by Villa this month, and here are the key dates for their diaries.
The draws for the first qualifying round, second qualifying round, third qualifying round and play-off round are on the same dates as Europe’s elite competition.
However, the matches are held a day later, with the first legs of first qualifying round scheduled for July 9 and the second set for July 16.
July 23 and July 30 will then see the first and second legs of the second qualifying round get underway.
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The third qualifying round first legs are on August 6, with the second legs expected to take place on August 13.
That will be followed by the play-off round first and second legs on August 20 and August 27.
The draw for the league phase will differ slightly from the Champions League in that it will be held on August 28.
Palace, Sunderland, and Bournemouth will enter the competition at that stage, and their fans will be desperate to find out their European opposition.
The eight matchdays will then run from September 16 to January 28, with the knockout round play-off draw to follow on January 29.
The first and second legs of the play-offs will be held on February 18 and February 25, respectively, with the winners progressing to the Round of 16 draw on January 29.
February 18 will see the first legs get underway, followed by the second legs a week later.
The final draw of the competition is on February 26, with the Round of 16 first and second legs scheduled for March 11 and March 18.
April 8 and April 15 will be the dates for the quarter-final first and second legs, followed by the semi-finals on April 29 and May 6.
The final will then be held at Waldstadion in Frankfurt on May 26.
UEFA Conference League
The final of 2025/26 Conference League between Palace and Rayo Vallecano showed how much the competition means to fans across the continent.
Conveniently, there are only two differences between the Conference League schedule and the Europa League schedule.
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The first is the league phase. The Europa League has eight matchdays, but the Conference League only has six.
They will get underway on October 15, and run until December 17.
The second difference is the final, which will be held at Besiktas Stadium in Istanbul on June 2.
That won’t be a bad away day for The Seagulls - if they can get there.
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